Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 7

‘There must be a clue!’

I calmed my racing heart and focused on the test again.

“Next, No Jitae!”

“Yes!”

Park Rahee didn’t awaken, and the next person in line, No Jitae, stepped forward.

The green-haired team member No Jitae was quite skilled.

His swordsmanship was impressive.

“Oh~! This kid’s got some moves! Aim for the torso, not the limbs! That’s it!”

Ham Sobong clenched his fists and cheered enthusiastically.

He had the eyes of a coach who’d finally found a promising player.

Fwiiish!

The sword cut through the air, descending at high speed.

Clang!

Its trajectory was blocked by the goblin’s steel claws.

The sword bounced back from the recoil, but No Jitae changed its trajectory with force and immediately launched a second attack.

Clang! Clang-clang-clang!

To my untrained eyes, it was the movement of a master.

How is he actually exchanging blows with the goblin?

That kid’s seriously impressive!

But the more surprising fact was that even with this level of skill, he couldn’t inflict a single scratch on the goblin.

That bastard… is strong!

What kind of low-level monster is this powerful?

If they throw goblins like this at us, how are we supposed to awaken?

“That one looked like it would definitely hit… Change your attack pattern! It seems to have adapted already.”

Just as Ham Sobong said, the goblin seemed to know which direction No Jitae’s sword would come from.

Goblins have low intelligence, so they shouldn’t be able to adapt this quickly…

‘Isn’t this strange?’

When I glanced over, Ham Sobong had a completely hardened expression, gripping his sword tightly.

His relaxed attitude from before was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment,

Kieeeeeee!

The goblin’s eyes flashed.

It was only for two seconds, but I definitely saw a yellow light glint in its red pupils before disappearing.

The moment I witnessed that, goosebumps rose all over my body.

‘That just now… could it be…?’

As I thought, that goblin isn’t an ordinary goblin.

And I know exactly what that goblin is.

‘It’s an experimental subject?’

Experimental subjects are monsters that first appear in Chapter 118.

They’re creatures created by a mad scientist who’s one of the masterminds, and when their eyes glow yellow, a strange trait activates.

A passive trait where their power increases the more they’re attacked.

Simply put, it’s a ‘the more you hit me, the stronger I get’ ‘the more you cut me, the stronger I get’ ability.

I thought they wouldn’t appear until much later…

But experimental subjects existed even back then?

Thud!

The goblin collapsed.

Ham Sobong, sensing something was off, had eliminated the experimental subject.

“This one seems like a mutant. Let’s try again with a different one.”

As expected of a ranker!

Even without knowing the setting at all, he responded appropriately.

There’s only one strategy for experimental subjects.

Avoid minor attacks and only deal critical hits to kill them as quickly as possible.

If ‘the more you cut me, the stronger I get’ is the ability, then you have to cut them down before they get stronger.

“Want to take a short break?”

“Huff, huff… Yes!”

“Five minutes rest.”

“Yes!”

No Jitae collapsed on the ground, and Ham Sobong began observing the dead goblin with a detective’s gaze.

I want to tell him.

‘That goblin is an experimental subject created by a dark organization, and it gets stronger the more you cut it!’

But he definitely wouldn’t believe me even if I said it.

Still, I’m gradually getting a grasp of the situation.

Experimental subjects had been introduced into the awakening test.

Not all the goblins are experimental subjects though.

The goblin Lee Hyojun killed didn’t have yellow eyes.

‘Is this the cause of the catastrophic incidents?’

While the outbreak happens outside, the experimental subjects attack from inside the test site.

Yeah, that’s enough to cause catastrophic incidents… no, wait, something still feels insufficient.

‘Right, we have a ranker!’

Each test site has one ranker.

Sure, I’m a harmless person who can’t even kill a single goblin, but Ham Sobong subdued an experimental subject in just one second.

If they managed to cause catastrophic incidents even with rankers present…

There are two conceivable methods.

① Ambush.

② Overwhelm with numbers.

Just as my thoughts reached that point,

Grrrrrumble!

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Not a small tremor, but a strong shake that made it difficult to stand properly.

“Wh… what?”

“Earthquake?”

“Everyone get inside the barrier!”

My teammates and I, distracted by watching the fight, had somehow wandered outside the magic circle.

As a safety-first-ist, I was the first to slip inside the magic circle, and soon the other kids followed.

But the magic circle wasn’t very large, so there was no room for Ham Sobong to enter.

“If we just drop our weapons, then you can too…”

“Why would you drop your weapons? Just stay put inside there!”

Ham Sobong gave his orders and began manipulating the wristwatch on his hand.

So that wasn’t a watch but a device?

It’s like the smartwatch hunters use.

It looks like he’s trying to contact the outside.

But it’ll be useless.

The moment the outbreak happens, communications are cut off.

We’ll be isolated inside the test site for the next two hours, and during that time, the catastrophic incidents will occur.

Gulp.

I swallowed.

‘This is it.’

That earthquake just now was the sign of an ambush.

The catastrophic incidents will begin soon.

* * *

The ambush should be starting…

According to my deduction, it should definitely be this timing, but…

“Examiner, how long do we have to wait?”

“If something happens, instructions will come. Just hold on a little longer.”

“Shouldn’t we get out before the cave collapses?”

“We can’t do that—there are procedures on this end too. And if you’re inside the barrier, you’ll be safe even if there’s an earthquake.”

It’s too peaceful.

No, beyond peaceful—it’s getting boring.

Nothing has happened for over twenty minutes.

“No Jitae, where did you learn swordsmanship?”

“From my father.”

“Was your father a hunter too? What’s his name?”

“He’s not a hunter, but he runs a swordsmanship dojo…”

Now they’re even making small talk like this.

Park Rahee is the only one fervently praying. Lee Hyojun, No Jitae, and Ham Sobong are busy chatting away.

“Aren’t you hungry? Want something?”

“Ooh, Yeom Juwan’s got good sense!”

Meanwhile, Yeom Juwan is unpacking his backpack and sharing snacks and drinks with everyone.

Anyone watching would think we’re on a picnic.

But wait, these snacks look exactly like the ones set up in the waiting room?

My kid’s surprisingly resourceful… I was admiring this when Yeom Juwan held out a pink macaron.

“Sora, you have one too.”

“I’ll eat later.”

“You ran earlier, so you must have lost a lot of energy. You should eat something.”

“I’m not in the mood right now.”

I don’t have the peace of mind to leisurely eat macarons when I don’t know when the ambush might strike.

I immediately turned my gaze to look at the rotating goblin device.

“You’re nervous because it’ll be your turn when the test resumes, right?”

“Yeah.”

Let’s go with that.

It’s complicated to explain otherwise.

Seven goblins had died during the test, and now there were forty-three remaining.

According to my deduction, the experimental subjects over there will launch an ambush attack.

A moment like this when everyone’s off guard is the optimal timing.

But they’re wearing restraints and are frozen solid with magic.

How are they planning to release that?

That’s the key point of this catastrophic incident…

Just then,

Flash!

A small light entered my field of vision.

When I squinted like a flatfish, I saw a tiny light bouncing up and down in the distance.

‘A firefly?’

Given that it’s glowing, it looks like a firefly, but its movement is like a grasshopper.

The firefly (or grasshopper) was hopping toward the goblin rotating device.

Don’t fireflies only live in clean areas?

This cave stinks, but it must be fairly clean…

‘…!’

My train of thought was cut off.

Because something unbelievable was happening before my eyes.

The moment the firefly (or grasshopper) reached the goblin rotating device, all the frozen goblins thawed simultaneously.

All forty-three goblins were spinning their necks in circles, stretching.

The chains the goblins had been wearing around their necks all fell to the ground at once.

Even though the fairly heavy chains were thrown to the floor, no sound could be heard at all.

‘Noise cancellation magic?’

While I was processing the situation, the goblins were already moving.

Toward Ham Sobong, who was sitting on the ground relaxing.

“Examiner, behind you!”

At my shout, Ham Sobong turned around.

I thought it was too late, but—

“Tch!”

Ham Sobong displayed amazing reflexes.

He leaned his body backward to dodge the goblin’s attack, then kicked off the ground and retreated nearly ten steps.

In that brief moment, he even managed to slice off one goblin’s arm.

“Aaaagh! E-Examiner! In front!”

“All of you stay right there! Don’t come out even one step!”

The forty-three goblins had perfectly surrounded Ham Sobong.

And each one began attacking, stabbing with their steel claws.

From a distance, it looked similar to the pirate barrel roulette game I played as a child.

That game where you stab knives into the barrel from all sides.

The difference was that Ham Sobong was deflecting all the goblin claws.

‘As I thought… noise cancellation magic is active!’

Even though the sword and steel claws were constantly colliding, no sound could be heard at all.

Even while fighting forty-three-to-one with his hearing practically paralyzed, Ham Sobong was holding his ground.

As expected of a ranker!

But I can’t relax.

Some of those monsters are experimental subjects.

“Kuk, damn it! What the hell are these things!”

Sure enough.

As the goblins gradually grew stronger, Ham Sobong slowly began to be pushed back.

“W-we should help…”

“I told you to stay put!”

“But…”

No Jitae tried to step forward with his sword, but Ham Sobong somehow heard him and shouted toward us.

Hearing that, one goblin became aware of us.

‘D-don’t come!’

The goblin licking its lips arrived in front of the magic circle in an instant and brought down its long steel claws without hesitation.

Clang!

But the claws bounced off in midair.

The barrier’s defensive shield had activated.

“Everyone, be careful not to step outside the barrier.”

Yeom Juwan gave a warning in a low voice, and we huddled together, embracing each other.

The defensive shield is invisible.

If even a single toe accidentally slips outside the barrier, it’ll be sliced off.

Clang! Clang!

…17, 18, 19.

After a full nineteen attempts, the goblin acknowledged the barrier’s power and turned back toward Ham Sobong.

In the meantime, Ham Sobong had eliminated four more goblins.

Can we just hold out like this? Ham Sobong will manage, right? He’s a ranker after all…

Just as I was catching my breath, something familiar caught my eye.

Firefly or grasshopper.

That bug from earlier was watching us.

I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but it seems to be tilting its head as it looks this way.

An ominous premonition.

“Juwan…”

“What?”

“That thing… we have to kill it.”

“What?”

“That thing over there… If we want to kill it, we have to go out.”

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about in this situation?”

Yeom Juwan’s reaction is natural.

Because if we leave the barrier now, we’ll be attacked immediately.

‘Right, there’s no proof that grasshopper did it, is there?’

<On the Brink of Destruction> may be a world with no dreams or hope, but it’s not some insane world where bugs smaller than a finger go around firing off magic spells.

Yeah, it must be a coincidence.

Let’s not catch an innocent grasshopper.

I tried hard to think that way, but I have a strong premonition.

If that bug reaches here, we’ll all die.

I have no proof, but I’m certain.

Hop hop.

The grasshopper is approaching.

Ten meters ahead.

Hop hop.

Five meters ahead.

Hop.

At this rate…

“Hey! Yeon Sora!”

I left Yeom Juwan’s shout behind and just ran.

Crunch!

I felt a sensation like crushing a crab shell under my foot.

Fluorescent liquid seeped out from under my shoe.

‘I killed it!’

Before I could savor the victory, I felt a chilling presence.

When I turned my head, I saw three goblins running toward me.

All three were drooling.

I don’t speak goblin language, but I think I can read their faces.

(Oh, a snack?)